all the William Perrys in the world can't save you now

Was there such a thing as "a photographic memory" before the camera was invented? What do you call the condition of being intolerant, to the point of paralysis or rage, of having to wait in line? Have you heard of the 7Up, 14Up, 21UP, etc. documentary, which follows a group of British people from different backgrounds in seven year intervals as they grow and carve out their lives? How come we don't see more of that, what with our having the technological means and all? Does everyone have a certain kind of desire that will never be satiated (food, God, sex, silence, orchids, paintings, money, etc.) or are there some people for whom "yearnings" qua yearnings are really at the low end of the spectrum? If there are such people, do you think there lives sort of just hum along until they die? Without proffering another tired version of Manichean soul/body division, would these people who do not really feel all that much desire for anything be more or less evolved than us regular carrot-chasers?